A federal appeals court has removed a hurdle in the criminal investigation of president Trump's handling of top secret information sees from his Florida estate. I Norman hall. A three judge panel of a federal appeals court based in Atlanta has ruled unanimously to end an independent review of the seized documents. The decision represents a significant win for federal prosecutors. It clears the way for them to use as part of their investigation the entire set of documents seized during an August 8 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, the ruling also amounts to a sharp repudiation of arguments by Trump's lawyers for months they have said that the former president was entitled to have a so called special master